Sentry of the Arcane: Befall

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Sophie

"So he remembered?!" Audrey exclaims loudly after I finish telling her and Laurel about my encounter with the male Altruistic. Benen was currently sleeping, so I decided that it was the perfect time to tell them what happened. Obviously, Audrey was rather irritated that Benen came to me instead of the three of us.

"Well, yes," I begin. "But he couldn't remember the memory that I had sent him for him to recover that memory. So I sent it again."

"And?" Laurel asks calmly. "What'd he remember, Sophie?"

"Well, remember how we searched in Fitz's room?" I question. "And we couldn't find them?"

Audrey and Laurel both nod.

"They were in the room," I say hastily. "But Fitz used his telekinesis to levitate the three of them so we wouldn't see them." I wait for any remarks from Audrey or Laurel, but both of them are speechless. "The memory was that I woke up in the middle of the night to try and search in Fitz's room again. Before I fell asleep on the ground, I transmitted 'Where are you?' to Fitz." I take a deep breath before saying, "He didn't reply, but he looked so heartbroken when he didn't reply."

"Wait- so you saw it through Benen's eyes?" Laurel asks. "Then how did you know what you transmitted? He couldn't hear your transmission, right?"

I nod. "But I remembered what I transmitted to Fitz," I remind her. "The big problem there is that when I'm viewing a memory, I can't hear what people are saying in the memory."

"Then what was the point of searching through the memory?" Audrey asks bitterly. She crosses her arms as she waits impatiently for my response.

"The thing is, Audrey," I explain. "Just because I didn't hear what Fitz, Donovan, and Benen were saying doesn't mean that he didn't hear them." I pause again for any sort of interruptions. After a moment of silence, I continue, "Benen said that Donovan and Fitz went to a hideout. Donovan only went because Mr. Wallace didn't want Fitz to go alone. Fitz actually wanted to go alone."

"Couldn't he have gone with you?" Laurel asks innocently.

Audrey scoffs. "He could've," she says. Eyeing me, the female Sovereign comments, "But I'm sensing that there's a more intimate reason for Fitz to not tell you."

I sigh, nodding. "Well, Benen said that Fitz didn't want me to be endangered by going to the hideout, especially after the warehouse," I explain. "And he also said that 'it's no surprise that Fitz would risk his life instead'." I pause, shaking my head in disapproval. "If only he knew how worried we all are."

Audrey's eyes widen at my words. She furrows her eyebrows at my quote of Benen. The female Sovereign is about to say something when Laurel gasps. Laurel then whispers something in Audrey's ear, and Audrey's face immediately softens in realization. The two then look at me rather sympathetically.

I'm about to ask what that was about, but I can tell by their faces that I won't get an answer. Instead, I say, "After Benen left, I tried looking for Mr. Wallace, but-"

"Why would you be looking for Wallace?" Audrey interjects impolitely. "He doesn't have anything to do with this."

Laurel frowns in thought. "Actually," the female Altruistic murmurs. "I think he does." Turning to me, she asks me, "Isn't Mr. Wallace the one who wanted Fitz and Donovan to go to the hideout? Doesn't that mean that he's the reason why they're gone?"

I nod, "Exactly. But I didn't see him anywhere. So I was thinking that he actually went with Fitz and Donovan to that hideout."

"That makes sense," Audrey says. After a moment of silence passes between the three of us, the female Sovereign asks uncomfortably, "Um, what now?"

"We search for Mr. Wallace," Laurel says, rolling her eyes. "Duh."

...

Even with Audrey and Laurel to help me, we still don't find Mr. Wallace. Sighing, I exit the conference room. "Where else should we look?" I ask, my frustration seeping into my voice. Exhaling deeply, I glance at the girls before slowly turning around in a circle, narrowing my eyes at each hallway that I see. Before I know it, I find myself staring solemnly at the hallway that goes to the laboratory.

"What's down there again?" Audrey asks. "The lab, right?"

I nod. Without looking back, I storm down the hallway, my fists clenched tightly by my sides. I glance over to see Audrey with the same expression as me. Both of us exchange a suspicious glance before looking back at Laurel, who's not too far behind.

Once inside the laboratory, the three of us look for either Steven or Caroline. When I see the familiar blond hair of the forensic pathologist, I call out, "Steven? We need to talk to you!"

Steven turns around, a smile on his face when he sees us. The pathologist only takes a moment to look at our faces before his expression becomes solemn. "Is it about Fitz and Donovan?" he asks softly.

I see Audrey tense up from the corner of my eye. Instead of letting anyone else answer, I nod. "We know they went to a hideout," I explain. "And that Mr. Wallace is somehow involved with their departure."

"Involved?" Steven asks, raising an eyebrow. "Involved how?"

Audrey then speaks up, "Mr. Wallace is the reason that those two left in the first place..! And when we want to ask him a few questions, he's gone!"

"We think that Mr. Wallace also left to go to the hideout," Laurel interjects.

"With or without their knowledge of him doing so," I finish with a slight bitterness.

Honestly, I don't know how I would've expected Steven to react to our theory. But in actuality, I would have never expected to see him pale considerably at our words sink in. Steven begins to whisper foul words as he paces back and forth. Raking a hand through his hair, the forensic pathologist inquires, "And you're completely sure that he's not here? Utterly sure?"

I nod, slightly confused at his reaction. "I even tried to track his thoughts," I admit. "He just... disappeared. So going to the hideout makes the most sense."

Steven curses even louder, his reaction to our words rather queer. Before any of us can question his sudden change in behavior, the pathologist politely, yet forcefully, asks us to exit the laboratory. "I... need to think for a bit," he says vaguely. Smiling weakly, he closes the metal doors on us, leaving the three of us even more confused than ever.

"What. Just. Happened?" Audrey asks as we begin to make our way back to the main lobby.

Laurel pouts, "Did we say something offensive? Oh- I hope not!"

I shake my head, still trying to figure out what happened. "I don't know what happened," I say, slightly dazed and confused. "But I feel like from that reaction, we're on the right track."